A parking meter on Washington Street flashes a word that most drivers dislike in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

A parking meter on Washington Street flashes a word that most...

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A parking ticket is left on the windshield of a car parked at an expired meter on Washington Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

A parking ticket is left on the windshield of a car parked at an...

Image 3 of 3

Several parking citations have been issued to a car that has been parked at an expired meter for over a day in front of Caffe Puccini on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010.

San Francisco's parking meter rates and fines have more than doubled in the past 15 years, making the city one of the priciest places to park in the nation.

The findings, outlined in a new report issued by the Board of Supervisors' legislative analyst, comes as the Municipal Transportation Agency is expanding the number of metered curbside spaces. The report, requested by Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, compared San Francisco with other major cities and found that only Chicago and Los Angeles charge more to park at a downtown meter, and that San Francisco charges the highest rate outside of the downtown core. In addition, San Francisco matched only New York City in the highest meter violation fine, the report found.

"We're just nickel-and-diming people to death," Alioto-Pier said Wednesday.

San Francisco charges $2 to $3.50 an hour to park at a meter, with downtown costing the most and neighborhood commercial districts the least. The fine for parking at an expired meter is $55 in neighborhood commercial districts and $65 downtown.

San Francisco raised meter rates in 2003, 2005 and 2009. The last time before that was in 1992. Meter violation fines have gone up five times since 1995.

Parking meter revenue generated $38 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Revenue from expired-meter fines brought in almost $29 million more, according to the San Francisco MTA. The money helps fund the Muni transit system.

Sizing up rates

The report by Budget and Legislative Analyst Harvey Rose surveyed meter rates and fines in Boston, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington, New Orleans, Chicago, New York City and Portland, Ore.

Chicago had the highest hourly meter rate at $4.25 downtown. The median charge for the cities was $1.25 an hour.

Parking meter violations ranged from $20 in New Orleans to $65 in the downtown cores of New York City and San Francisco.

There are about 25,600 metered spaces in San Francisco. Last month, the MTA's governing board approved a plan to add a total of 1,340 meters in 10 neighborhoods.

Earlier this year, city transportation officials, Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors - confronted with a bleak budget deficit - considered expanding meter operations to Sundays and into the evenings, but the plan has been shelved amid public outcry. "Look, I know the city needs money," Maryann Walsh, a Richmond District resident, said as she fed a meter on Fillmore Street Wednesday. "But the $2 here and the $3 there starts to add up, and God help me if I get a ticket. It's just getting to be too much."

Alioto-Pier thinks so, too, and plans to call for a Board of Supervisors hearing on the subject. She also wants to "start a conversation" with the Municipal Transportation Agency directors, who set the rates. If she doesn't get support there, she may pursue a more populist route and attempt a ballot measure to let voters weigh in. "Enough is enough," she said.

Paul Rose, a spokesman for the Municipal Transportation Agency, said that meters aren't all about making money. He said meters also are used as an incentive to create turnover at parking spaces.

In addition, he said, the price may get some people to think twice about driving, a key component of San Francisco's "transit-first" policy, which promotes transit, walking and biking over use of private automobiles.

San Francisco also is at the start of a two-year, federally financed experiment to combat congestion with parking meters. The SFpark program will set meter rates based on demand to reduce the need for drivers to circle the block hunting for parking. Rates could range from 25 cents to $6 an hour, or more for special events.

Parking convenience

As part of the project, San Francisco aims to make it more convenient for people to park. The new meters accept credit and debit cards, and time limits will be expanded at some to lessen the chance of people getting tickets.

Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, a civic think tank, said that given San Francisco's parking prices, SFpark is a step in the right direction to move away from the punitive nature of San Francisco's parking policy and make it more customer-friendly. As for pricing, however, he said a market-rate system is the best way to go. "Parking is a scarce resource in some San Francisco neighborhoods, and the price should be set according to demand."